Nylon jaw alternative

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Work Room chat:
(I decided to change the Postscripts segment to Work Room chat because I think Postscripts sounds too boring already and also have the segment moved to the top of the post instead of the bottom ala Kennysia’s Short Talk. Tend to forget about this segment when it's at the bottom. So, had better make it the first thing I write about for each post :P)

I cannot NOT mention about Sheela Goh from Eclectica, The Atelier. For one, because she’s a Malaysian and secondly, have you seen her work? Hhhmmm, wonder if she’ll jump into the tutorial bandwagon and then, maybe I can have an opportunity to learn from her. ;)

I just realized that many of the talented Malaysian wire jewellery artists only has probably not more than 3 years experience. Less than 3 years and they can already come up with work like that? Can you imagine how much more experiences down the road will mould their design? Either wire jewellery is a easy to pick up art (so not!) or it’s in the spirit of Malaysia Boleh! LOL I’ld like to take it as the latter. :)

You may want to read more about Sheela Goh here.
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You guys should know by now about the unfavourable review of the nylon jaw plier I got from Findingbeads4u (which is in the midst of closing down).

Now, the funny thing is this.

Nylon jaw pliers, as I understand it are just ordinary pliers but comes with a pair of nylon jaws which is slipped over the steel jaws to act as a barrier between the steel jaws and wire to prevent marring. The nylon jaw will wear over time and all you have to do is just to get a replacement jaw.




Very oddly though, the nylon jaw pliers I got from Findingbeads4u are not only humongous in size but also had the nylon part deadly glued to the steel jaws. Another strange thing is that the presumably nylon part does not even feel like nylon at all! It feels more like plastic. (If it indeed is plastic, won’t plastic mark the wires too? o_O)

Anyway, I didn’t bother to try it out at all because (here’s where I get really annoyed) the furthest I could open the jaw is this.



And this is how when the jaws are closed.



-___________-

Ok, great.

Can somebody tell me how on earth am I supposed to use this ‘thing’? A total WASTE of money if you asked me.

Now, what?

Went online and google for alternative ways on how not to mark you wires, and I stumble upon this.



Performix Plasti Dip.
It is explained in their site as a

“Multi-purpose air dry, synthetic rubber coating that can be easily applied by spraying, brushing or dipping. Plasti Dip resists moisture, acids, abrasion, corrosion, skidding/slipping, and provides a comfortable, controlled grip. It remains flexible, stretchy and will not become brittle or crack in extreme weather conditions”

So, basically, it is a form of synthetic rubber coating which I reckon works like the nylon thingy.

From what I gather from what I’ve read, it is some kind of solution which you spray, brush or dip (it comes packed in a tub or aerosol spray can) your pliers into. Leave it on for a few hours to dry and you get a smooth and rubbery finish at the end, where the thickness of the coating is buildable by dipping into it several times more.

If that’s the case, does it also means that the rubber coating could be tear away when you no longer need the coating and dipped into the solution again if you need a rubber coating again? Dunno. Just wondering.

Eni Oken made a mention of this Plasti Dip in one of the entries in her Jewelry Journal. It goes along the line of not marking your wires. You can read it here.

But then, where am I going to look for Plasti Dip here in Malaysia? It would most probably be sold in a hardware store, that I’m pretty sure of but do the hardware stores here carry this stuff? I doubted that they do. They are most probably going to shrug it off and say they know nothing about it. That I can foresee. -___-

Even if they do, how much do you think it will cost? I saw it being sold in tub form for $12.

So, how?

I think I read about this trick somewhere, that what you can do is to wrap a layer of masking tape around the jaw.

Sounds simple enough and more importantly, cost effective. :P

This is what you do.

Get a roll of masking tape. Those which you can easily find in any stationary shops. Don’t get those too thick or too thin ones. Probably around ¾” will do just fine. Well, you don’t exactly need a roll of ‘em but you get the idea.

Pardon the dirty looking edges, it is after all a very old roll I found stashed at some corner in my house.

Next, get your pliers. I do not recommend you to try this out on your good pliers, the stainless steel ones because I’m worried that the tape might leave some sticky residue on it. So, it’s better that you try this out on your economy range pliers. You can use either a chain nose or flat nose or even your round nose. Just bear in mind that you will be using it for gripping and not forming of wires. I don’t think you can form nicely with the wrapped jaws due to the uneven surface. They are at best good for gripping only.



Cut a strip of masking tape. Not too long. You don’t need that much. Maybe about 1 ½” will do.




Stick them onto the flat surface of one of the jaw and wrapped around it. Do the same for the other side of the jaw.





And what do you get?
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Tad-dah!



Your own DIY ‘nylon’ jaw pliers! Alright, so it’s not exactly nylon but it’s supposed to work like one. I myself have personally tried this trick. I’m not saying it’s a substitute for nylon jaw pliers. I’ve yet to use it long enough to be able to ascertain that but I find that it did in fact reduces the marring of wires. I dare not say it eliminates or prevent marring because same reason, haven’t used this trick long enough to find out for myself. I had only try this out once.

Nevertheless, it might come in handy for that particular moment when you wished you had one to use.

One tip though.



You might want to take the tape off after you’re done using it for the day. I had mine on for a couple of days after I were done using them and the tape turns out to be a bit difficult to be taken off and left some sticky residue. Although the sticky residue can be cleaned off with the appropriate cleaning agent, but we all know what a pain the cleaning process can be.

I didn’t bother cleaning mine because there were only some minor residue and it was one of the budget pliers I got earlier on. Ever since I upgraded my working pliers to the stainless steel ones, I hardly use them anymore.

One more thing, unlike nylon which is more durable, masking tape is thinner. Depending on the amount of pressure that you exert, the tape is susceptible to tear, even while being stuck onto the jaws. So, you might want to keep that in mind as well.

Happy trying ‘em out and if you like, share how it worked for you or not in the comment box! :D

p/s: I'm doing Jenny a favour here. Her blogshop, JPBeads is giving away 3 virtual gift certificates worth RM32 each. All you have to do is to join their email subscription list and leave a comment here about your favorite item in their blogshop. Pretty sweet deal, ain’t it? ;)